Kwame Kilpatrick to be sentenced Sept. 3; sentencing for dad, Ferguson also set

Jul. 25, 2013

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will be sentenced Sept. 3 for his public corruption crimes. If the U.S. Attorney's Office has its way, Kilpatrick 'likely will spend the next couple of decades in prison.' / March photo by Regina H. Boone/Detroit Free Press

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

His codefendant and longtime contractor friend, Bobby Ferguson, will be sentenced Sept. 4 for his crimes, which include racketeering, extortion and bribery.

Kilpatrick’s father, Bernard Kilpatrick, who faces up to three years in prison, will be sentenced Sept. 10. He was convicted of a single tax charge and acquitted of two others. The jury deadlocked on the most serious charge against him: racketeering.

All three will be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds, who oversaw their 6-month trial, which ended with Kilpatrick and Ferguson being taken to prison in handcuffs following the jury’s guilty verdict in March. Bernard Kilpatrick was released on bond.

If the U.S. Attorney’s Office has its way, Kilpatrick “likely will spend the next couple of decades in prison” — possibly up to 30 years — for running a racket out of City Hall to enrich himself, his family and his friends, according to court documents.

Kilpatrick was found guilty of 24 of 30 counts. Ferguson was convicted on nine of 11 counts.

At the request of the prosecution, Edmunds ordered both Kilpatrick and Ferguson to be locked up pending sentencing.

A fourth defendant in the public corruption trial, former Detroit water chief Victor Mercado, cut a deal in the middle of the trial and awaits sentencing. Mercado faces up to 18 months in prison and a $100,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy, admitting he helped steer lucrative contracts to Ferguson.

The Free Press will live blog from the courthouse for Kilpatrick’s Sept. 3 sentencing. Come back to freep.com that day to follow along, or access the blog on your phone at m.freep.com or by downloading our app for Android, iPhone or iPad devices.